Cruise Raider

We have had great luck since the restart but now that cruises are filling up, maybe not quite so much now. Those low capacity sailings have been fabulous, though!

You wouldn’t have to make a whole new reservation, just have the one that is currently booked changed to a different cabin and they may even be able to just add your husband for the same price as you paid, provided it is in the same category. You should not lose your deposit. Any travel agent or Princess vacation planner worth their weight should be able to do this without issue.

I like it with one part Frangelico and no sugar on the rim! Wow … it’s so good!

I am one of those poor wine lovers. I have been so disappointed with such poor choices in the plus package. However, the wine choices on the Diamond were so pathetic on our latest cruise, that I took a look at the martini menu. I tried the bacarrat martini … OMG! It was so delish and I actually got my friends hooked on it, as well. Now, that will be my traditional boarding drink from now on. I did learn that I like it with just a quarter of the amount of frangelico and no sugar on the rim .. and icy if they can shake it for a little longer. Wow … what an amazing cocktail!

I am with you! If there is any place to splurge on a balcony, Alaska is it! And you are so right, Glacier Bay absolutely stunning and ver enjoyable from your own balcony.

there will be a chair on the other side of the bench seat so no worries. the formal nights will be dependent on your itinerary. It won’t be on the first night and won’t be on the last night. They will usually be on a sea day but could be scheduled on a port day with an early departure if your itinerary has many ports of call. When they’re are more events populated on your JourneyView, look for the nights that say formal portraits. That will be an indication of which evenings will be formal nights.

I can only answer what my experience has been when I traveled solo. I made reservations for dinner for 6:30 PM every night. I dined alone as is what still very much in the period of lockdowns for CoVid. I prefer the midship dining rooms over the other one in the very aft. They seated me promptly every night on a bench type seat, which is usually where solo travelers are seated. You will be lucky to get a seat by the window as everyone seems to want those. I appreciated the same table as my waiter really spoiled me. Dinner took about 45 minutes, as I don’t tend to have dessert or coffee/tea after dinner. you are allowed to let them know what pace you wish to keep for your dining. if you are willing to share a table with others, the availability of being seated goes way up for you. However, be aware that dining times will be increased based at the number of others at your table. If you have Club Class dining, you can go according to your own schedule, though, without any reservations. We did get a window seat every time when we were in the club class mini suites, without even requesting one. The timing of the shows in the theater are pretty consistently at 7:30 and 9:30 PM. There are game shows and events usually held at 8:30 PM in either the Explorers Lounge or Princess Live, too. There is usually live music in Crooners after dinner, in the piazza at different times through the day, in the Explorer's Lounge at 9:30 PM, up by the pool some days, the wheelhouse Bar in the evenings, club Fusion or the Vista Lounge on most evenings. The Vista Lounge or Club Fusion will also have some trivia games, comedians, etc at night. I think you’d be pretty safe planning your dinner between 5:30 and 6:00 PM if you wish to dine alone and get a seat at the first show. I actually like going to the specialty restaurants on the first formal night. I never see anything on the MDR menu that is totally thrilling on that night. Be sure to let them know in the MDR when you won’t be attending dinner there as they are apt to save the table for you when you do show up. you can still dress to the nines if you prefer or you can go smart casual for the specialty restaurants. If your cruise is fully packed, you may not even be able to get reservations. The same goes for the sanctuary. So, don’t be too disappointed if you can’t. There are still a lot of great places to eat. Don’t miss going to the sit down pizzeria (Alfredo’s or GiGis), too .. it’s so good and you don’t need a reservation there. The expanded room service menu is also great … we oftentimes will skip dinner completely, especially if they are showing a National sporting event in one or more of the venues. Then, we will order a pizza ($3 fee) and a couple of Caesar salads to wherever we are seated. Yummmmmm! The events such as crafting, lessons, classes, lectures are rarely scheduled during the height of the dinner hours .. 5:30 to 7:30. if by chance, you purchase the premium package with your booking, you will have seats reserved for you in the theater if you arrive at least. 15 minutes before the start of the shows … that may be for the production shows only but we will not know until to,row when they roll out the new features of that package. sometimes things you wish to do will overlap because they do have a lot activities and shows going on in different venues. What you don’t do one day, you may be able to catch up with it on another day or even another cruise.

And now they are headed to Japan, the menu may change again. Maybe that is just an assumption, though. The food was very good in the Diamond, with the exception of one meal at lunch in the MDR. I was very pleased with that aspect of the cruise.

what is it you would like to know? Many people are glad to help you find the answers you are looking for. And … it does seem to help if you look on the roll call or if there is a “live from” thread from the previous cruise. Many will post the patters and dinner menus, etc.

We went on the Diamond at the end of January and the old reliable menu was back in place for us!

you can even order a salad from the app … even better.

I had to chuckle when I read your comment because I am your age and my DH is entering the next decade of life. Anyway, just apply the apply the opposite of what you wrote and that would be us! To each his own, I guess! Certainly not a criticism of how you feel .. and we may be the outlier to our generation’s analysis, but in general, that’s not really what we see.

Is it possible that he reserved a cruise in the past but didn’t go? If so, he was assigned a Princess number and won’t be able to get in on that referral. That’s what happened to some friends of ours that didn’t cruise at the time they put a hold on a cabin in the past. When I tried to refer them, they couldn’t apply it because the names had older numbers assigned.

We’ve cruised out of Seattle many times and people on this site really taught be the best of the best … so, here are our suggestions: You should be fine with any flight that is after noon. Booking your air via EZ air would give you that extra assurance on catching a flight if there is some delay in disembarkation. The SeaTac airport is not really far from the airport, but there can be horrendous traffic. The security lines can also be very long once in the airport but there are a couple of tricks to use to help you navigate your way and make your trip back home less stressful … if you have TSA pre check, that will make your life easier. Even better, if you book first or business class, you will have a much shorter line going through security. Lastly, you can ‘save a spot’ for the security line ahead of time by using the following link: https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver next, if you check your luggage using EZ check while onboard, the City of Seattle will pick up the tab. They will check your larger bags for you on the last night of the cruise and you won’t have to see them again until you hit your home airport. You won’t even have to weight them to make sure they aren’t that dreaded 51 pounds. Here’s a link to some info on that service: https://www.portseattle.org/page/port-valet-enjoy-seattle-luggage-free lastly, I love Seattle Express for taking you for your return trip to the airport. They have a dedicated spot at the cruise terminal and their shuttle leaves every 15 minutes or so to take you directly to the airport. You can just sign up for a ride without having to choose a specific time. It is much cheaper than the transfers and you won’t have to wait for the bus to fill up before they depart from the cruise terminal. This service is invaluable when traveling to the airport. https://seattleexpress.com/cruise-ship-transfers/ PS .. their service has been so good that even though I had to cancel my transfer beyond the deadline, due to getting CoVid, they still refunded my money to me. happy travels and hope this info helps!

What a great point. It would be nice if Princess would allow passengers traveling in the same cabin and one is not old enough to drink with one premier beverage package package and one zero package .. it evens thing out a bit.

As of today, no, you won’t be able to upgrade just for yourself if you are on the same booking. But, it may change in a couple of days when the updated packages are in place. So, stay tuned! It might be possible as of February 20th and going forward. BTW, your son will also be able to get mock cocktails, such as Virgin pina coladas, daquiris, chocobanana, etc.

Perfect plan! You won’t be disappointed!

The couple of times I was able to upgrade on the website shortly before my cruise, I was charged the upgrade price plus the extra for the insurance.

I’m going to try upgrading from my Princess Plus to the Princess Premier for my next sailing using my OBC at the end of this month. I will report back on how it works, if it works. I believe I paid $50 per day so will expect a charge of $150 for the upgrade for my solo cabin. I have a lot of OBC, so it will be worth it to me.

I always listen to the waiter’s recommendations, except for the fact I don’t eat a lot of meats in general. but the ones that know this recommend something for the menu that is vegetarian, fish or chicken. Having never tried duck, I just don’t think I would enjoy it. It was a perfect day to go to Sabatini’s and get their most delicious sole piccata.

It comes from Bottomline technologies. I thought it was spam when I first got one.

We also had some refundable credit coming to us and it only took two weeks or so to get it back. I was shocked!

It’s probably a vent or doorway of some sort. I would pick D728 to be safe.

The caribe deck balconies on the Ruby are definitely larger cabins. Just for reference, you can fit 6 chairs on these balconies and are larger than the balconies in the mini suites below on deck 9. check out the following site: cruisedeckplans.com for photos.

Wow … thank you! It pays to just both upgrade to the premier package in that case.